Interrogating urban crisis: Cities in the governance and contestation of austerity. (July 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bayırbağ, Mustafa Kemal; Davies, Jonathan S; Münch, Sybille
• Other Names: Bayırbağ Mustafa Kemal guest-editor.; Davies Jonathan guest-editor.; Münch Sybille guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Urban studies. Volume 54:Number 9(2017:Jul.)
• Page Start: 2023
• Page End: 2038
• Publication Date: 2017-07
• Subjects: contestation -- crisis -- governance -- resistance -- urban; 争议 -- 危机 -- 治理 -- 抵抗 -- 城市; Cities and towns -- Periodicals; City planning -- Periodicals; 307.1216
• DOI: 10.1177/0042098017706336
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0042-0980

Abstract

The meaning of 'urban crisis', and its applications in concrete struggles to govern and contest austerity urbanism, remains under-specified analytically and poorly understood empirically. This paper addresses the lacuna by opening up the concept of urban crisis to critical scrutiny. It begins by exploring how urban 'crisis-talk' tends to over-extend the concept in ways that can render it shallow or meaningless. The paper looks, second, at different applications of the terminology of 'crisis', disclosing key framings and problematics. In the spirit of critical urban studies, it focuses, third, on practices of crisis-resistance and crisis-making. The paper concludes by summarising the six urban crisis framings linked to six urban problematics, in order to inform future studies of austerity urbanism and assist in developing more reflexive approaches to the concept.